Manila, June 1, 2003 By Nelson Beltran, (Star) Now how about a
rematch?

The
atmosphere was no different from the era long gone — a mammoth crowd
roaring at the Big Dome with the gladiators and the titans in the Crispa
Redmanizers
and the Toyota Tamaraws reliving their fabled rivalry, slugging it out with so
much
pride, passion and enthusiasm Friday.

At first, some of them were reluctant to buy the idea. But after it was over,
everybody was yearning to do it again, if a series is not possible.

Robert Jaworski, now a senator of the land, made a basket the crowd was
aching
to see all night long with time down to 23.3 seconds as the Tamaraws bested the
Redmanizers, 65-61, in their memorable reunion duel.

It was a classic match which got a climactic ending with the two teams’
biggest stars coming through with the crucial plays in the homestretch.

That was the lone attempt made by Jaworski in 10 minutes of action. The 1977
MVP awardee pulled down one rebound and committed one foul for his other stats.

Jaworski later maintained he’s yet to retire from the game. "Hindi pa. Hindi
pa nga ako nagwa-warm up (for a comeback)," said Jaworski, whose most recent
stint on the hard court was in 1998 as player-coach at Ginebra.

Terry Saldaña and Chito Loyzaga, among the young Turks in the Toyota lineup,
piled up big numbers, with the former tallying 15 points and 15 rebounds and the
latter 14 points and 15 rebounds. Saldana, who scored four points and made one
big steal in the payoff quarter, won the game’s MVP honors.

He touched off raw nerves after the contest when he was heard in the TV
interview calling the Crispa players "parang mga squatters (kung maglaro)."

As in their skirmishes in the good old days, elbows were thrown here and
there, bodies flew all over the court and not a few times a fight nearly marred
the game. There were Oscar Rocha unleashing a kick to Guidaben while sprawling
on the court, Rolly Marcelo barely eluding a clenched fist from Mon Cruz,
Marcelo in another instance buying a fight against Bernie Fabiosa and Bong dela
Cruz and Pol Herrera figuring in a number of fierce collisions at the paint.

Present-day PBA stars Olsen Racela, Kenneth Duremdes and Dondon Hontiveros
were awe-struck at the sidelines. All playing in the All-Star Game today, the
three agreed the Crispa-Toyota reunion game was a tough act to follow.

Crispa-Toyota Reunion Notes: Eala himself is entertaining the idea of a
Crispa-Toyota rematch. "Maybe next year in another special PBA event. Pero dapat
nga sa probinsya naman"….. The only player reluctant to a rematch is Bogs
Adornado: "Masakit na masyado sa katawan. Ngayong game lang na ito, apat na
parte ng katawan ko ang masakit. Ayaw ko ng maglaro"….. In the pre-game huddle
in the dugout, Toyota coach Dante Silverio told his players their game plan
would be "to make a platoon substitution every after six minutes so you can play
as a 20-year-old and we will beat Crispa." They did that in the first three
quarters. Fernandez suffered a pulled hamstring but agreed to return to the
court in the fateful final two minutes to chants of "Fer-nan-dez, Fer-nan-dez,
Fer-nan-dez" by the crowd….. Jaworski said the Redmanizers should not feel bad
with the loss. "Second place naman sila," he said in jest….. Dave Floro, son of
the late Crispa bossman Danny Floro, hosted a sort of party for the Redmanizers
and their families at a nearby restaurant after the contest. And the Redmanizers
had a good time ribbing each other in the party that lasted a few minutes before
dawn. "Ang daming coaches na sa amin, tapos ang nag-coach yung hindi naman
coach. Eh di magulo," said Freddie Hubalde, pointing to Rudy Soriano who called
the shots for the team. "Eto, isang beses lang nag-ensayo, tapos sya ang naglaro
ng matagal," said Cezar, pointing to Bernie Fabiosa. Co couldn’t blame anybody
but himself, saying: "Namaga ang ring sa akin"….. The players mentioned coach
Baby Dalupan now having problem with his memory. "Philip palitan mo nga yon.
Sino ba yon?" said Cezar. "Sa akin ang tawag Atoy," said Itoy Esguerra.